Methods and Apparatus for a Touch Sensor

1. A mutual capacitance touch sensor, comprising: a plurality of cells arranged in rows and columns, each cell comprising: a first reception electrode, comprising a first portion electrically coupled to a second portion, wherein the first and second portions are positioned along a first diagonal direction within the cell; and a second reception electrode, comprising a first portion electrically coupled to a second portion, wherein the first and second portions are positioned along a second diagonal direction within the cell, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction; and a drive electrode positioned adjacent to the first reception electrode and the second reception electrode, and wherein the drive electrode forms a first capacitance with the first reception electrode and a second capacitance with the second reception electrode; wherein: a first set of cells forming a first column are electrically coupled together by the first reception electrode; and a second set of cells forming a first row are electrically coupled together by the second reception electrode.

2. The mutual capacitance touch sensor according to claim 1 , wherein substantially one-half of the cell comprises at least one portion of each of the first and second reception electrodes.

3. The mutual capacitance touch sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second reception electrodes overlap at a center point of the cell.

4. The mutual capacitance touch sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the drive electrode separates and surrounds each cell, and forms a grid pattern.

5. The mutual capacitance touch sensor according to claim 1 , wherein: the first reception electrode is formed in a first substrate layer, and the second electrode is formed in a second substrate layer; and the first and second substrate layers are bonded together.

6. The mutual capacitance touch sensor according to claim 1 , wherein each reception electrode has a plurality of maximum sensitivity points, and wherein the maximum sensitivity points are evenly distributed across the touch sensor.

7. The mutual capacitance touch sensor according to claim 1 , wherein: the first reception electrodes in the first column form a zigzag pattern along a first direction from a first edge of the touch sensor to an opposing second edge of the touch sensor; and the second reception electrodes in the first row form the zigzag pattern along a second direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

8. A method for forming a mutual capacitance touch sensor with improved sensitivity, comprising: forming a plurality of first electrode chains in a first substrate layer in a first direction; wherein forming a first electrode chain comprises forming a plurality of first reception electrodes and electrical interconnects in a zigzag pattern in the first direction; forming a plurality of second electrode chains in a second substrate layer in a second direction; wherein forming a second electrode chain comprises forming a plurality of second reception electrodes and electrical interconnects in the zigzag pattern in the second direction; and bonding a major surface of the first substrate layer to a major surface of the second substrate layer; and forming a drive electrode adjacent to the first electrode chain and the second electrode chain; wherein the drive electrode forms a first capacitance with the plurality of first reception electrodes and a second capacitance with the plurality of second reception electrodes.

9. The method for forming a mutual capacitance touch sensor according to claim 8 , wherein forming the drive electrode comprises forming the drive electrode along an edge of at least one of the first and second substrate layers, and between each electrode chain.

10. The method for forming a mutual capacitance touch sensor according to claim 9 , wherein the drive electrode forms a grid pattern, and the grid pattern defines individual cells.

11. The method for forming a mutual capacitance touch sensor according to claim 10 , wherein each cell comprises: a first reception electrode, comprising a first portion electrically coupled to a second portion, wherein the first and second portions are positioned along a first diagonal direction; and a second reception electrode, comprising a first portion electrically coupled to a second portion, wherein the first and second portions are positioned along a second diagonal direction.

12. The method for forming a mutual capacitance touch sensor according to claim 11 , wherein each reception electrode comprises a plurality of maximum sensitivity points, and wherein the maximum sensitivity points are evenly distributed across each cell and between adjacent cells.

13. The method for forming a mutual capacitance touch sensor according to claim 8 , wherein: adjacent first electrode chains are arranged equidistant from each other; and adjacent second electrode chains are arranged equidistant from each other.

14. A mutual capacitance touch sensor system, comprising: a plurality of cells arranged in an array to form a series of rows and columns, each cell comprising: a first reception electrode, comprising a first portion electrically coupled to a second portion, wherein the first and second portions are positioned along a first diagonal direction; a second reception electrode, comprising a first portion electrically coupled to a second portion, wherein the first and second portions are positioned along a second diagonal direction; wherein: the first reception electrodes of adjacent cells along a first column are coupled together to form a first electrode chain; and the second reception electrodes of adjacent cells along a first row are coupled together to form a second electrode chain; a drive electrode comprising a first segment and a second segment arranged in a grid pattern, wherein the first segment forms a first capacitance with the first reception electrode and the second segment forms a second capacitance with the second reception electrode; and a microprocessor coupled to the electrode chains, wherein the microprocessor is responsive to a signal from each electrode chain to determine a touch coordinate.

15. The mutual capacitance touch sensor system according to claim 14 , wherein the electrode chain is arranged in a zigzag pattern along one of an x-direction and a y-direction of the array.

16. The mutual capacitance touch sensor system according to claim 14 , wherein the grid pattern defines a perimeter of each cell.

17. The mutual capacitance touch sensor system according to claim 14 , wherein each reception electrode has a plurality of maximum sensitivity points, and wherein the maximum sensitivity points are evenly distributed across the cells.

18. The mutual capacitance touch sensor system according to claim 14 , wherein the first and second reception electrodes of each cell overlap in a center point of the cell.

19. The mutual capacitance touch sensor system according to claim 14 , wherein substantially one-half of each cell comprises at least one portion of each of the first and second reception electrodes.

20. The mutual capacitance touch sensor system according to claim 14 , wherein the touch coordinate comprises at least one of: a first coordinate corresponding to a cell within the array; and a second coordinate corresponding to a region between adjacent cells.